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Whitman welcomes Class of 2016

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In the Class of 2016, Whitman has again attracted a diverse group of down-to-earth, high achievers with strong leadership skills and a knack for getting involved. In fact, the overwhelming majority – 87 percent – of the incoming class has already participated in community service of some kind.

The class reflects a diversity rate of 20 percent. Students come from 30 states (as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico) and 14 foreign nations; together they speak 19 foreign languages. Here’s a breakdown of some of the achievements of the 409 students comprising the entering class:

359 (87 percent)
Number of students who participated in community service while in high school

Types of service

  • Volunteer at Tomorrow’s Hope, an organization geared towards preventing human trafficking
  • Worked with naturalists in bird banding, guiding tours and animal care
  • Therapeutic Riding Center horse handler
  • Volunteer as a companion for people suffering from HIV/AIDS
  • Planted trees to reforest the rain forest
  • Humpback and sperm whale research at Whale Acoustics Lab
  • Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability
  • Roads of Bangkok volunteer for Indian Thai Association
  • Seattle Aquarium High School Interpreter
  • Special Olympics volunteer
  • Intern at Seattle Children’s Museum
  • Meals on Wheels volunteer, serving food to elderly members of the community
  • Counselor at Muscular Dystrophy summer camp
  • Campaign volunteer for Seattle City Council
  • Taught Ultimate Frisbee in Guatemala
  • Worked at an orphanage in Ukraine

63 (15 percent)
Number of students who founded a club or organization while in high school

Clubs founded:

  • Anti-Human Trafficking Club
  • Quidditch Team
  • Spanish Culture Club
  • Women’s Self Defense Club
  • IB Honor Code Panel
  • The Next Generation
  • Leadership Initiatives Club
  • A Cappella Group
  • Students Working Against Genocide
  • Baking Club
  • Organic Garden Club
  • Tuition on Track
  • Extreme Sports Club
  • Improvisation Club
  • Gay Straight Alliance
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277 (67 percent)
Number of students who attended a public high school.

128 (31 percent)
Number of students who attended a private high school.

More than 70
Number of countries to which students have traveled.

Countries they have traveled to:

Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belize, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cote d’lvoire, Croatia, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Fiji, France, Galapagos Islands, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Holland, Honduras, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Mexico, Micronesia, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Russia, Rwanda, Senegal, Serbia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zambia

19
Number of languages other than English spoken at home.

Languages:

Afrikaans, Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Punjabi, Russian, Spanish, Swahili, Tagalog, Tamil, Thai, Vietnamese, other.

18 (4.4 percent)
Number of students who were ASB or class presidents.

26 (6.3 percent)
Number of students who were editor or co-editor of their high school newspaper or year book.

95 (23.1 percent)
Number of students who were captains or co-captains of a varsity athletic team.

Other accomplishments of members of the entering class:

  • Worked at NASA Center for Space Research.
  • Interned at the Physics of Mass Spectrometer Design at Oregon State U.
  • Competed at the USA Junior Olympics for Track and Field.
  • Designed and assembled a three-wheeled, self-propelled vehicle for an engineering challenge.
  • President of Break Dancing Club.
  • Helped preserve a native plant species.
  • Traveled for an International Basketball Team for two weeks in Germany.
  • Conducted research at the University of Minnesota’s Chemical Engineering and Materials Science Department.
  • Participated in the National Geographic Student Archaeology Expedition in Italy and Greece.
  • Executive director of Young Americans Theatre Company.
  • Winner of numerous awards at the Davis Film Festival including: Best Soundtrack, Best Documentary, Best Special Effects, and Best Short Film.
  • Took part in two different language immersion clubs (Spanish and Chinese).
  • Worked to create environmental sustainability and food security in South Africa.
  • Licensed general aviation pilot.
  • Intern at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
  • David Letterman show appearance for 2nd place finish in bird calling contest.
  • NPR “This I Believe” essay published.
  • Youth Director of Anti-Teen Sexual and Dating Violence.
  • Documentary Film Director traveling all over the world making a film on genocide.
  • Founder and owner of Flours Catering, began in the 8th grade.
  • Female deckhand on a fishing boat in Alaska.

Popular Academic Interests
as reported on the Common Application:

  • Engineering
  • English Language and Literature
  • Environmental Studies and National Resources
  • Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics
  • History
  • Political Science
  • Psychology
Published on Aug 20, 2012
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